The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on Friday that more than 60,000 ballots cast in November by voters in a close race for a seat on the state's high court could be counted, but it left open the possibility of discounting thousands of others.

North Carolina’s Supreme Court has temporarily halted enforcement of a decision by an appeals court that favored a Republican candidate in a close and unresolved November election for the state’s highest court.

The North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday put on hold an appellate court's decision that gave more than 60,000 voters just 15 days to establish their voting eligibility or have the ballots they cast last fall in a close race for a seat on the state's high court thrown out.